Apple Cider Vinegar: Super Star!

Is also said to help with Dawn Phenomenon. Just sayin'.
Melissa

Small Fixes Make Big Differences!

Sugar Substitute: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie!

Ingredients

• 1 -5 ounce sugar free chocolate pudding and pie filling mix
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar-free whipped topping
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• almond pie crust

Directions
Mix together Pie Filling Mix and Milk.

Add Peanut Butter and mix until smooth. (HINT: Spray your measuring cup with PAM (or cheaper brand) and peanutbutter will slide out of cup).

Fold in Whipped Cream.

Add to pie shell.

Place in Refrigerator until set (3- 4 hours).

Almond Pie Crust

• 2 C whole raw almonds 
• 5 Tb butter 
• 2 Tb Truvia sweetener

 Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  

Process the almonds in your food processor until very finely chopped.  

Add the butter and Truvia, then pulse until combined completely.  

Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a pie pan and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15-20 minutes. 

Allow crust to cool

adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/diabetic-peanut-butter-pie-318799,
 http://www.mykitchenescapades.com/2011/12/low-carb-sugar-free-chocolate.html

I so had a craving for chocolate and peanut butter. Problem solved.
Melissa 

The Healthier Choice: Almond Milk vs. Cow's Milk

Almond milk is a popular milk substitute that is made by mixing finely ground almonds with water. Almond milk has a very high nutritional value and, unlike cow's milk, is safe for those who are lactose intolerant or have gluten and casein allergies. Here's how almond milk and cow's milk compare.

 

 Almond Milk and Its Origins

Almond milk is made by mixing ground almonds with water and straining it to remove almond skins and sediment. Almond milk has been used since the Middle Ages as a substitute for cow's milk. Because cow's milk doesn't keep very long without refrigeration, medieval people processed it into butter and cheese right away to preserve it. They used almond milk in cooking and baking, since it's easier to store.

 

 The Nutritional Value of Almond Milk

Almond milk is one of the most nutritionally valuable milk substitutes available today. It is high in a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, iron, fiber, zinc and calcium. Almond milk is low in calories, at only 40 calories per eight ounce serving, and low in fat. It contains only three grams of fat per eight ounce serving. Almond milk is lactose, gluten, casein and cholesterol free; it's also free of saturated fats.

 

 The Nutritional Value of Cow's Milk

Whole cow's milk is a very nutritious food. It's high in protein, with eight grams per serving. One eight ounce cup of milk meets 28% of your daily requirement of calcium, and fortified milk helps to fulfill your daily vitamin A and D requirements. However, milk contains 24 mg of cholesterol per serving, and contains 146 calories per serving.

 

 Almond Milk and Cow's Milk Compared

Compared to cow's milk, almond milk is the much healthier choice. Almond milk contains a wide variety of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function. Almond milk also contains high levels of antioxidants, so it can help prevent many types of cancer and slow the signs of aging. Almond milk is also great for those who can't drink cow's milk due to lactose intolerance, or a casein or gluten allergy; however, those with tree nut allergies should avoid almond milk because it could elicit a dangerous allergic reaction.

While cow's milk contains high levels of calcium, and is fortified with vitamins A and D to help you meet your daily requirements of these vitamins, almond milk contains high levels of a wide range of necessary vitamins and therefore has a higher nutritional value than cow's milk. The only thing that cow's milk has more of than almond milk is protein; cow's milk has eight grams of protein per serving while almond milk has only one gram per serving.

adapted from: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-healthier-choice-almond-milk-vs-milk.html

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All Treats: FREE Novomax Blood Glucose and Ketone Meter

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Happy Halloween! A Brilliant Party Pleaser

Guacamole-Topped Bacon Bites

What you'll need:

A pound of bacon strips
Guacamole (see below)

How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut bacon strips into thirds and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Bake the bacon for 10 to 15 minutes or until very crispy. Remove and place on paper towels to blot grease.
3. Put a spoonful of guac on a piece of bacon, and top with another piece of bacon. Repeat until all bacon has been guac-ed.

Unbelievably Good Guacamole
Recipe from Runner's World nutrition editor Joanna Golub
  
What you'll need:
3 ripe avocados (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
2 small serrano chilies or 1 jalapeño, finely diced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 chopped plum tomato
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon
How to make it:

How to make it:
1. Cut the avocados in half and discard the pit. Using a small knife, gently cut the flesh of each avocado half in a cross-hatch pattern, careful not to break through the avocado peel. Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado pieces and put them in a medium bowl.
2. With a fork, stir in the remaining ingredients, using the back of the fork to gently mash the avocado, leaving plenty of large chunks intact.
3. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice if needed.

source: http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/snack-guacamole-topped-bacon-bites

Dinner Fix: Lamb Shank Stew With Root Vegetables!

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 3 lbs of lamb shanks, each shank cut into a couple of pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 4 carrots, 2 coarsely chopped, 2 cut into 2-inch segments, and quartered lengthwise
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3 cups chicken stock*
• Two 1x3-inch strips of orange zest
• 1 medium rutabaga, roughly chopped (1 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 medium turnip, roughly sliced or chopped (1 inch pieces)
• 2 parsnips, chopped

Gremolata

• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

*If cooking gluten-free use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged stock.

Directions

1 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper, add them to the casserole and brown well on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Transfer the shanks to a plate.
2 Add the unpeeled garlic cloves, celery, chopped carrots (half of your carrots, the other half are cut lengthwise to be used later in the recipe) and onion to the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the wine; boil over high heat until the liquid is very syrupy, about 5 minutes.
3 Return the shanks to the pot and add the stock and orange zest. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and braise the shank for 3 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone tender; turn the shanks from time to time as they cook.
4 Preheat oven to 350°F. Put the root vegetables (turnip, rutabaga, parsnips, and lengthwise-cut carrots) in a large baking pan and toss with enough olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for about an hour, or until tender.
5 In a small bowl, mix the minced garlic with the parsley and lemon zest (the "gremolata"). Set aside.
6 Remove the shanks from the pot and transfer to a plate. Pass the sauce through a coarse strainer, pressing hard on the vegetables. Discard the vegetable pulp. Skim the fat from the surface of the sauce.
7 Return the sauce to the pan, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Separate the lamb meat from the bones. Add the lamb meat and root vegetables; simmer just until warmed through.
Garnish with the gremolata and serve.

Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/lamb_shank_stew_with_root_vegetables/

Nothing says fall like a good root veggie stew!!!

Melissa

Where Are You?

I Speak Two Languages

The Dawn Phenomenon Salad

Ingredients: 

•  1 Granny Smith apple diced 1/2" 
• 1 Golden Delicious apple diced 1/2" 
• 1 celery stalk sliced thin
• 1/2 c chopped pecans
• 1/2 c raisins
• 1/4 c mayo
• 1/4 cup vinegar (reg or cider) 
• 2 packets Stevia (+/- to taste)

Directions: 
Mix all together to make a salad.
Eat half as your post dinner snack.  
You may need to try this for a week to compare blood sugar results.

Taming the Dawn Phenomenon

Just like diabetes itself, we don’t have a cure yet for the dawn phenomenon. But unlike diabetes, you can’t completely control it. The best you can do is tame the dawn phenomenon.

There are a lot of definitions for what the dawn phenomenon is, but the simplest is the government’s one, “the early-morning (4 a.m. to 8 a.m.) rise in blood glucose level.” The best way to see if you have it is to test your blood at bedtime and then when you get up, and if it’s higher then you probably have the dawn phenomenon.

But if you take insulin, maybe the effect of the insulin you took the night before is wearing off. There is even a third possibility, although it is much less likely. It is a rebound from a low blood glucose level in the middle of the night. You can see if this is happening by checking if your blood glucose is low at 2 or 3 a.m.

It’s important to know what causes your high morning blood glucose. If you have night-time lows, you might need to reduce the dose of insulin you taken in the afternoon or add a bedtime snack. On the other hand, if you aren’t running low at night but are high in the morning, you might need to take more insulin.

A lot of people who aren’t taking insulin also experience the dawn phenomenon. It varies from person to person. And sometimes you might have it and other times you won’t.

We know what causes the dawn phenomenon. Some of our hormones tell our liver to release glucose to give us the fuel we need when we wake up. But when these hormones are out of balance with the hormone insulin, the liver releases too much glucose.

We don’t know a way for everyone to control the dawn phenomenon. It would be great, but we can’t just put a lid on our liver.

The only report in the professional literature of a treatment for the dawn phenomenon was a study four years ago by Maryellen Dyer-Parziale of Casa Pacifica Medical Clinic in Camarillo, California. Her report, published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice , showed that 28 test subjects who ate an ExtendBar at bedtime had an average 28 percent reduction in morning hypoglycemia compared with those taking a placebo.

ExtendBars contain uncooked cornstarch, a naturally occurring resistant starch. So I wasn’t surprised when Ann, a correspondent in Australia, wrote that something called Hi-Maize 5-in-1-Fiber helps control her dawn phenomenon. She said that she takes about 1/3 cup a day. Hi-Maize is also resistant starch.

A recent study shows that Hi-Maize improves insulin sensitivity, which may explain why it can help control the dawn phenomenon.

A company called National Starch Food Innovation produces Hi-Maize. Honeyville Grain sells it in 5-pound bags.

Eating a green apple at bedtime lowers the morning reading for many people, according to John Walsh and his wife Ruth Roberts in their 1996 book Stop the Rollercoaster: How to Take Charge of Your Blood Sugars in Diabetes, which is out of print. We digest green apples – like Granny Smith apples, not unripe ones – fairly slowly, so this approach makes sense.

Vinegar is another approach that has some good theory going for it and works for some people. Vinegar and other acidic foods can reduce blood glucose, as I have written in “Acidic Foods: Another Way to Control Blood Glucose” .

Pure vinegar is a bit strong. So a correspondent, Renee, uses tablets of vinegar at bedtime to control the dawn phenomenon. Recently she wrote that for best results she uses five to six tablets.

As John Walsh and Ruth Roberts point out, the morning reading is the most important one of the day. A typical complaint, they say, is “If I wake up high, my whole day is shot!” Nobody needs that.

adapted from: http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/1388/taming-dawn/2

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients

• 12 asparagus spears
• 6 prosciutto slices/strips
• A little ghee for frying

Instructions

1. Wash asparagus and cut 2 cm off the ends. Cut prosciutto strips into two halves, going lengthways, you should end up with 12 strips.
2. Place each prosciutto strip on a chopping board at a 45 degree angle. Place one of the asparagus spears on top of the meat, perpendicular to it. The tip of the asparagus should be lined up with the bottom of the prosciutto strip. Wrap the bottom end of prosciutto over the asparagus and holding the meat tight, start rolling the asparagus up. The prosciutto strip will wrap around the whole length of the spear because it’s on an angle. You can try a different wrapping method but I find this is a very quick to do it. Don’t worry if parts of the asparagus spears are not covered completely.
3. Heat some ghee in a large, flat frying pan to sizzling hot. Fry wrapped asparagus spears for 1-2 minutes on each side or until prosciutto is brown and crispy.

 source: http://eatdrinkpaleo.com.au/prosciutto-wrapped-asparagus-recipe/

Poached Egg Caesar Salad

 

Ingredients

• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• ¼ cup shaved Parmesan
• ¼ cup favorite caesar dressing
• 4 eggs, poached
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Wash and dry romaine.
Finely chop.In a large mixing bowl.
Toss chopped lettuce with dressing, Parmesan, croutons, salt and pepper.
Divide contents into 4 bowls.
Top each salad with a gently poached egg, grind some black pepper on top.

source: http://www.daydreamkitchen.com/2013/04/poached-egg-caesar-salad/

There Are "Healthy Fats" And "Unhealthy Fats."

No doubt about it, carbohydrate gets all of the attention in diabetes management. How much total fat you eat depends on many factors but more important than total fat is the type of fat you eat.  
There are "healthy fats" and "unhealthy fats."

To lower you risk of heart disease, try to eat less of the unhealthy fats – saturated and trans fat. At the same time, you can protect your heart by eating the healthy fats—monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega-3 fats. It is true that all fat is high in calories so it is important to watch portion sizes as well. As you are cutting back on the sources of saturated and trans fats, you'll want to substitute the healthy fats in their place. Instead of 1 cheese stick for an afternoon snack, have 12 almonds. The calories are about the same, but you will have improved your heart health with that single change!

Unhealthy Fats

Saturated FatWhy should you eat less saturated fat? Because saturated fat raises blood cholesterol levels. High blood cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. People with diabetes are at high risk for heart disease and limiting your saturated fat can help lower your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Foods containing saturated fat include:

• High-fat dairy products such as full-fat cheese, cream, ice cream, whole milk, 2% milk and sour cream.
• High-fat meats like regular ground beef, bologna, hot dogs, sausage, bacon and spareribs
• Lard
• Butter
• Fatback and salt pork
• Cream sauces
• Gravy made with meat drippings
• Chocolate
• Palm oil and palm kernel oil
• Coconut and coconut oil
• Poultry (chicken and turkey) skin

One of the important diabetes nutrition guidelines is to eat less than 7% of calories from saturated fat. For most people eating, this is about 15 grams of saturated fat per day. That is not much when you consider just one ounce of cheese can have 8 grams of saturated fat. Many adults, especially women or sedentary men, may need less. To find out a specific goal for you, talk with your dietitian or health care provider.

Saturated fat grams are listed on the label under total fat. As a general rule, compare foods with less saturated fat. Foods with 1 gram or less saturated fat per serving are considered low in saturated fat.

Trans FatLike saturated fat, trans fat tends to increase blood cholesterol levels. It is actually worse for you than saturated fat and for a heart-healthy diet, you want to eat as little trans fat as possible by avoiding all foods that contain it.

Trans fats are produced when liquid oil is made into a solid fat. This process is called hydrogenation. Trans fats act like saturated fats and can raise your cholesterol level.
Trans fats are listed on the label, making it easier to identify these foods. Unless there is at least 0.5 grams or more of trans fat in a food, the label can claim 0 grams. If you want to avoid as much trans fat as possible, you must read the ingredient list on food labels. Look for words like hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil. Select foods that either do not contain hydrogenated oil or where a liquid oil is listed first in the ingredient list.
Sources of trans fat include:

• Processed foods like snacks (crackers and chips) and baked goods (muffins, cookies and cakes) with hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil
• Stick margarines
• Shortening
• Some fast food items such as french fries

CholesterolYour body makes some of the cholesterol in your blood. The rest comes from foods you eat. Foods from animals are sources of dietary cholesterol. Cholesterol from the food you eat may increase your blood cholesterol, so it's a good idea to eat less than 200 mg per day. Cholesterol is required on the label if the food contains it.
Sources of cholesterol include:

• High-fat dairy products (whole or 2% milk, cream, ice cream, full-fat cheese)
• Egg yolks
• Liver and other organ meats
• High-fat meat and poultry skin

Healthy Fats

Monounsaturated Fat
Monounsaturated fats are called "good or healthy" fats because they can lower your bad (LDL) cholesterol. Sources of monounsaturated fat include:

• Avocado
• Canola oil
• Nuts like almonds, cashews, pecans, and peanuts
• Olive oil and olives
• Peanut butter and peanut oil
• Sesame seeds

ADA recommends eating more monounsaturated fats than saturated or trans fats in your diet.
To include more monounsaturated fats, try to substitute olive or canola oil instead of butter, margarine or shortening when cooking. Sprinkling a few nuts or sesame seeds on a salad is an easy way to eat more monounsaturated fats. But be careful! Nuts and oils are high in calories, like all fats. If you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, you want to eat small portions of these foods. For example, 6 almonds or 4 pecan halves have the same number of calories as 1 teaspoon of oil or butter.
Work with your dietitian to include healthy fats into your meal plan without increasing your total calories.

Monounsaturated fats are not required on the label. Some foods do list them – particularly if they are a good source.

Polyunsaturated Fat
Polyunsaturated fats are also "healthy" fats. ADA recommends that you include these in your diet as well as monounsaturated fats.
Sources of polyunsaturated fats are:

• Corn oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Safflower oil
• Soybean oil
• Sunflower oil
• Walnuts
• Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• Soft (tub) margarine
• Mayonnaise
• Salad dressings

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids help prevent clogging of the arteries. Some types of fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids. ADA recommends eating non-fried fish 2 or 3 times a week.
Sources include:

• Albacore tuna
• Herring
• Mackerel
• Rainbow trout
• Sardines
• Salmon

Some plant foods are also sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Sources include:

• Tofu and other soybean products
• Walnuts
• Flaxseed and flaxseed oil
• Canola oil 

source: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/fat-and-diabetes.html

Previously, I had said that there was a link between higher blood sugars and fat and that I thought it best to go as fat free as possible. I've come to learn that this is not the case. Fats are high in calories so if you over indulge, this will lead to higher blood sugar levels. However, just like everyone else, diabetics should get their fair share of healthy fats and limit the unhealthy fats. I stand corrected.

Melissa

The Low Carb Flu: Symptoms and Relief

Many people (not everyone!) who start a low carb diet experience what’s called the “keto flu” or the “induction flu” in the first few days while the body is adapting to burning ketones instead of glucose. The basic symptoms are:

• headaches
• nausea
• upset stomach
• Lack of mental clarity (brain fog)
• sleepiness
• fatigue

It’s called the “flu” for a reason: you feel sick.

 How long will the low carb flu last?
It depends. Some people don’t experience any symptoms at all, but some suffer anywhere from a day to a week. Rare cases up to two weeks. Everybody’s bodies are different and some people handle switching over better than others. You might consider starting on a weekend or sometime when you’re able to get good rest deal with the symptoms.

For those of you that are going through the flu, don’t give up! 

So what can be done to lessen the symptoms?
First you have to understand why your body is reacting this way. Your body’s been burning glucose for energy so it’s basically full of enzymes that are waiting to deal with the carbs you eat (and probably store them as fat). But now the body needs to make new enzymes that burn fat for fuel instead of carbs, and the transition period causes your flu-like symptoms. There are some things you can do to lessen the symptoms of the low carb flu and to make it go away sooner (to force the body to transition sooner) What to do:

• You’re probably dehydrated. Drink PLENTY of water while you’re on the diet. And then some more.
• Watch your electrolytes. When the body is getting rid of excess insulin from your former carb-crazy diet you´ll lose lots of fluids that have been retained in your body. This causes the rapid weight loss most people see in their first few days of ketosis, it’s mostly water, sorry. When you lose all the retained water you also lose electrolytes like sodium, magnesium and potassium. When you’re lacking them you´ll feel like crap so when you’re feeling really ill on the keto flu try things like chicken/beef broth and look for foods rich in these minerals. Take a multi-vitamin and a multi-mineral.
• Eat more fat – Yup, load up. Butter everything, bacon everything, eat fatty meats and put heavy cream in your coffee. This will force your body to hurry up the transition. You´ll think this is crazy and think you´ll never get skinny eating this way, but you will.
• Don’t eat too much protein – The body can transform protein into glucose so if you eat too much of it in the first days it will slow down the transition. Go for fatty meat and cheese if you can, add fat to protein shakes etc.

adapted from:  http://elowcarbfoodlist.org/the-keto-flu-symptoms-and-relief/

Snack Shift: No-Crust Pizza Poppers!

 

Ingredients: 

- Sweet Mini Peppers

- Shredded Cheese - mozzarella or your favorite.

- Raw Ground Meat, well-seasoned - Italian sweet sausage, but you can use
        any ground beef, chicken, pork, or turkey, just be sure to season
        it up or the results may be bland.

Use this basic ratio: For every 5 peppers you’ll need about 3 ounces of meat and 1 ounce of cheese. 

Directions:   

Cut the tops off your mini peppers and scrape out the seeds to create a clean, hollow interior. Fill with layers of sausage (or seasoned ground beef, turkey, pork, or chicken) and shredded cheese, finishing with the cheese. Bake them in a 350 degree F. oven. Here's how...

BEST CHOICE - MUFFIN PANS: Stack filled mini peppers in an upright position, inside foil-lined muffin cups. Bake for approximately 35 to 50 minutes. The time will depend on your oven and how cooked you’d like your peppers. 

When is it done cooking? The sausage should no longer be pink and an instant read thermometer should register a reading of at least 160° Fahrenheit when stuck deep into the sausage filling. (Ground chicken and turkey should be cooked to 165° Fahrenheit.)

source: http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2012/06/no-crust-pizza-poppers-my-taste-of.html

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Good Stuff!!

Melissa 

Better Beginnings: Cottage Cheese Scrambled Eggs!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• butter
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place the eggs, cottage cheese, salt and pepper into a blender and blend until smooth.
In a small frying pan, melt a little butter (to coat the bottom of the pan).
Pour the eggs mixture into the frying pan.
Without stirring, gently push the cooked portion to the center; continue until all the eggs are fully cooked (but not dry).

 source: http://dietrecipesblog.com/2008/07/22/cottage-cheese-scrambled-eggs-recipe-137-calories/

How Blood Sugar Levels Affect Weight Loss

When we eat, our body converts digestible carbohydrates into blood sugar (glucose), our main source of energy. Our blood sugar level can affect how hungry and how energetic we feel, both important factors when we are watching how we eat and exercise. It also determines whether we burn fat or store it.
Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin that transports blood sugar into our body's cells where it is used for energy. When we eat refined grains that have had most of their fiber stripped away, sugar, or other carbohydrate-rich foods that are quickly processed into blood sugar, the pancreas goes into overtime to produce the insulin necessary for all this blood sugar to be used for energy. This insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.
However, the greater concern with the insulin surge is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don't burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway.
The greater concern is that the insulin surge causes too much blood sugar to be transported out of our blood and this results in our blood sugar and insulin levels dropping below normal. This leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us want to eat something else with a high sugar content. When we do, we start the cycle all over again.

What to Watch For

• Simple Carbohydrates: Because of their small molecular size, simple carbohydrates can be metabolized quickly and are therefore most likely to cause an insulin surge.
Simple carbohydrates include the various forms of sugar, such as sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (dairy sugar), and glucose (blood sugar). Watch for the "-ose" ending.

• Hidden Sugar in Processed Foods: Watch for "hidden" sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups.
• Sugar in Beverages: Be aware of the amount of sugar in beverages, especially coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and most such drinks aren't filling.
• Fat-Free Products: Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. And as if that's not bad enough, without any fat to slow it down the sugar is absorbed into your blood faster.
• Cereal Box Claims of Less Sugar: Many newer cereals do contain less sugar, but the calories, carbohydrates, fat, fiber and other nutrients are almost identical to the full-sugar cereals. The manufacturers have simply replaced sugar with other refined, simple carbohydrates.
• No Sugar Added: It doesn't mean that the product doesn't naturally contain a lot of sugar. 100% fruit products often contain concentrated fruit juice, still another form of fructose or sugar.
Table sugar (sucrose) is often said to provide "empty calories" because it has no nutritional value other than providing fuel for energy. Honey and other more natural sugars, on the other hand, are often considered to be healthier because of the trace vitamins and minerals they provide. Still, for weight loss purposes, all of these sweeteners can simply be treated as sugar.

What You Can Do

It is also important to understand what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet. When you skip a meal your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. And when you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.
Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat-burning capacity. Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, provides consistent energy, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency.
When you will be away from home or work, plan your snacks and take them along so that you will be able to eat regularly and won't be tempted by junk food. This may be good advice for people who stay at home, too.
But remember that it was probably snacking between meals that caused you to become overweight in the first place. It will be very important that any snacks are healthy; that they are pre-portioned so you won't be tempted to overeat; and that meal sizes are reduced to compensate for the additional calories the snacks provide.
High fiber snacks and meals also help to regulate your blood sugar level. The fiber slows down glucose absorption and your rate of digestion, keeping your blood sugar level more consistent and warding off feelings of hunger. This makes eating apples and oranges a better choice than drinking (pulp free) apple and orange juice.

source: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_sugar.php